Bin Laden??

Whatever happened to the hunt for Bin Laden? In the wake of 9/11, President Bush vowed not to "rest until we find him". But five years into the most expensive manhunt the world has ever seen, "Public Enemy Number One" remains at large. How has he continually evaded capture? Did he escape from Tora Bora or did someone let him go? In this controversial documentary, key personnel involved in the search speak out.

In the province of Razni, a group of Taliban fighters are preparing to launch an attack. "We don't deal directly with Osama Bin Laden. We get our orders from Mullah Omar", states one. Clutching RPGs and Kalashnikovs, they drive off to bomb a police station.

The failure to catch Mullah Omar and Bin Laden continues to destabilise Afghanistan. From being the number one priority, the hunt has become an embarrassment. At his weekly press conference, American NATO Spokesman Luke Kniting drones on for more than 20 minutes about field successes. But when asked about the hunt for Bin Laden, his attitude quickly changes. "I'm not a coalition soldier. The coalition can speak for themselves about their mission". The conference comes to an abrupt end.According to reports, the most wanted man on earth had been located at least three times since 9/11. "I can testify that in 2003 and 2004, our snipers had a lock on Bin Laden", states a member of the French Special forces. "But there was a hesitation in command". He claims that on both occasions, the Americans were reluctant to give the order to fire, allowing Bin Laden to get away.Bin Laden's most notorious escape was at Tora Bora.
What happened there still remains a mystery. "I don't believe he escaped. Someone let him go", states one local. Haji Abdullah, chief of this area, offered to help the Americans catch him. But this offer was rejected. "If they had accepted, I'm 99% certain I would have got the job done", he claims. "I'm from this region. I know it better than anyone else." But Haji Zahir, one of the three Afghan commanders who participated in the siege of Tora Bora, claims they were tricked into believing Bin Laden's men would surrender.
There's growing frustration at this failure to catch Bin Laden. Even President Karzai's close advisors are starting to speak out. "There is very strong co-ordination between Taliban, Al Qaeda and Pakistan's secret service", complains one minister. He believes the Bush administration itself doesn't want Bin Laden caught. "The American Secret Service has relations with people who are close to Bin Laden."
So if the Americans don't want to capture Bin Laden, why are they in Afghanistan? Jean Mazurelle, the diplomat formerly in charge of Western aid to Afghanistan, is under no illusions. "The reason why American forces are here is because Afghanistan has become a sort of geopolitical aircraft carrier, stuck between fragile and vulnerable Pakistan and Iran", he claims. "Maintaining this army ten minutes away from Islamabad and Tehran is more important than fighting the Taliban".
Every day, the situation in Afghanistan moves closer to anarchy. Billions of dollars has been invested to rebuild the country but 40% of Afghans remain unemployed. In this context of misery and despair, the failure to catch Bin Laden has come to symbolise the betrayal of Western promises. After all, as President Bush himself commented: "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It?s not that important."